Aura is the ultimate AI, created by Harald Hoerwick. For Harald, Aura's existence was that of the daughter that he never would have had with Emma Wielant. After Emma's death, Harald obsessed over continuing her legacy, and created Aura for that purpose.

Aura has two noticeably different main appearances. Her first appearance is the way she is seen in .hack//SIGN (with the exception of Unison) and .hack//ZERO as well as a flashback moment in the .hack//Legend of the Twilight manga. The second appearance is the way she appears at all other times. Along with these two primary appearances, there were two other ways she was shown for brief moments in .hack//XXXX, for a total of four different appearances.

She is first seen as a young girl in a simple white dress with bare shoulders and no shoes. She has white hair that curls slightly around her face, and extends behind her into a massive ball of fluff that stretches down past her waist. Once she opens her eyes, they have the same purple color as Tsukasa's eyes.

As Aura grows and matures, she takes on a new look. Her hair becomes lavender and wavy, and only goes down past her shoulders. Her eyes also change color, and become an intense light blue. She wears a loose, flowing dress and a white shawl around her shoulders with a silver infinity brooch in the middle. The dress is sparkling and static during the Games when she is incomplete, but it takes a solid lavender color afterward. Due to the loose folds of her dress and her cloak, her hands are typically hidden from view. She has been seen wearing long sleeves, as well as sleeveless underneath the shawl. Since she floats in the air most of the time, feet are rarely seen. In some cases, she is barefoot, and at other times she is seen wearing simple slippers.

Aura momentarily appears two other ways in .hack//XXXX. In one scene, she is depicted as a very small girl in a fancy dress with bows in her hair, holding a teddy bear. At the end of XXXX after Aura is reborn, she appears in a fully-grown mature body without clothing. She has long hair that flows all around her, taking up much more space than her body itself.

In the Games, Aura displays a large amount of concern for the players affected by the events in The World. She cares about the people who play the game, and does what she can to help them. She repeatedly sends Kite messages apologizing for getting him involved. She also expresses the desire to be complete. After her restoration, she seems content to be the core of the system. However, she does try to keep herself amused, as seen with Shugo's adventure. Later, Aura becomes much more reclusive, seeking to leave The World to the players rather than interfering directly.

After Albireo gathers all the missing pieces of Lycoris together, he attempts to delete her. In that moment, they shift out of the field briefly. Lycoris replays one of her memories for Albireo. Albireo watches through Lycoris eyes as AI Harald calls her a failed attempt at his dream, and tells her that she cannot become Aura. Lycoris asks Albireo how he had hunted her down to begin with, and realizes from his answers that it had been the work of Morganna. Lycoris asks Albireo to finally delete her, but he refuses. She insists that Morganna will hunt her down anyway, since the existence of an AI in the system will hasten the birth of Aura, which Morganna sought to prevent. When Albireo asks why Morganna was trying to delete what she had created, Lycoris states that she is contradicting herself. From being labeled a failed Aura and the threat of constant pursuit by Morganna, Lycoris gives up, and activates Albireo's deletion abilities on herself.

Aura spends the majority of SIGN hovering over a bed asleep. During this time, Morganna is supposed to be developing her properly so that Aura can eventually awaken. Morganna resents her position, and attempts to prevent Aura's awakening. Morganna traps the player Tsukasa inside the game, and uses his negative disposition towards the world and other people to cause Aura to grow negatively. As Tsukasa's case worsens, Aura can be seen deteriorating. However, Tsukasa begins to recover, and Aura recovers too. In the end, Tsukasa chooses to return to the real world, which causes Aura's awakening. Aura briefly accompanies Tsukasa, Subaru, and Mimiru back to Net Slum. Skeith appears shortly after their arrival, and Helba abandons the field to help everyone escape.

Aura appears before Carl at the Hulle Granz Cathedral while Sora is going berserk. Carl blames Aura for Sora's misery, and attacks her. Aura responds by removing everyone, including herself, from the field. While searching for Sora, Carl meets Subaru, who tells Carl about Aura and Tsukasa. Carl learns about Aura's power from her. Later, Carl and Sora meet again at the cathedral, but Sora attacks her. Aura appears, triggering a transformation in Sora. Sora begins attacking Aura, and Aura endures it, believing that is what Carl wants. Carl calls out to Sora, momentarily causing him to stop. Carl takes the chance to pick up Aura and escapes from the Cathedral.

Aura is first seen running from Skeith in a dungeon. Soon afterward, she appears before Orca and Kite, and gives Orca the book that holds the Twilight Bracelet. However, Orca is Data Drained by Skeith, and the book passes to Kite. Kite then searches for Aura, trying to find out how to save Orca. Aura sends Kite garbled e-mails and provides field names to Kite. At the end of Infection, Skeith finally Data Drains Aura, and she is split into 3 segments.

Kite then works towards recovering the segments from various Phases. After recovering the first segment from Innis, the segment activates while exploring a dungeon with Mistral. Aura's body appears before them, but she is unconscious. Cubia then appeared to fight Kite, but ends up running away. After securing the second segment from Fidchell, it activates in front of Kite, BlackRose, Balmung, and Lios. This time, Aura's body regains consciousness, but cannot speak. Cubia appears again and forces them to fight, once again retreating. After the third segment is obtained from fighting Macha and activates, Aura is able to warn Kite not to fight Cubia, but he ends up having to force Cubia to retreat yet again. Finally, after meeting AI Harald, Aura explains to Kite and BlackRose that Cubia and the Bracelet share a connected existence, and if one is destroyed, the other will be too, and she also warns him that Cubia will no longer going to run away now that she had been released. Kite and BlackRose are drawn into a long battle with Cubia. Kite uses what Aura said, and has BlackRose destroy the bracelet, causing Cubia to disappear.

Without the bracelet, the .hackers are forced to face Corbenik without the power of Data Drain. Corbenik activates its absolute defense, making their attacks useless. Aura appears with the spirits of the coma victims, and they crack the shield. Morganna then fuses with Corbenik to fight them. They manage to severely injure Morganna, but she activates Drain Heart, and eliminates all of Kite's party. Kite does one last charge at Morganna, but at the last moment, Aura steps in the way, taking the attack. Aura disappears into light, and slams into Morganna, Data Draining her. After that, Aura and Morganna die, and Aura is reborn in a complete form with all the data gathered by the Phases. Aura e-mails Kite later, and gives him a new bracelet in the Book of Twilight ~Daybreak. She instructs Kite that there is another life trying to be born in a certain field, and asks him to go there and help prevent the mistake Morganna had made from being repeated.

Near the beginning of Liminality, a short scene shows Harald mourning at Emma's grave, stating his resolution to not let it end there. It is from this resolve that he begins work on the development of Aura. When Mai Minase logs into The World alongside Tomonari Kasumi, they enter a field where Skeith is hunting Aura. Mai catches a glimpse of Aura before they both pass out. Later, when she returns to the field with Tokuoka, they re-encounter Skeith, who attacks them again, but Mai recognizes the A in C major sound signaling the danger, and they manage to escape.

While discussing the source of the problems in The World, Ichiro Sato explains the purpose of Harald's system, and Harald's love for Emma Wielant. He mentions the system's purpose being to create an AI Child, which Mai Minase immediately realizes means the girl she saw. They infiltrate the CC Corp headquarters on December 24, 2010. During that time, they switch the servers during Kite's final battle with Morganna, giving Kite's team the chance they needed to win. Once they have escaped the building after the battle, Mai, Yuki, and Kyoko discuss the events they had witnessed, realizing that it was Christmas Day. This marked December 25, 2010 as Aura's birthday, when she was finally born into the role of the Ultimate AI.

BlackRose meets Aura for the first time right before the battle with Skeith when Aura gets data drained. BlackRose remains in confusion about Aura's nature and her connection to the Cursed Wave for most of the story. While discussing the Epitaph of Twilight with Asaoka and Hagiya, they determine Harald's intention in creating Aura as an AI child. When Aura's third segment is returned, and she warns them not to fight Cubia, BlackRose begins to wonder if Aura is a part of the Cursed Wave, or maybe an ally of Cubia. After being forwarded, and experiencing one of Aura's garbled e-mails for herself, BlackRose realizes Morganna's purpose as Aura's mother.

In XXXX Aura appears before Kite and Orca bearing the Twilight Bracelet. With an enigmatic message that "you have the power to resolve this" she gives the bracelet to Orca and vanishes. At one point, while Kite is busy with Cubia, BlackRose meets Aura. Aura tries to warn her about the "dark side of the Bracelet", but the meeting is interrupted by what appear to be Gomoras. When Tarvos appears in Mac Anu after Kite's collapse, Aura intervenes. She destroys Tarvos and repairs the damage done to the town, then sends BlackRose to rescue Kite from Cubia. With Aura's blessing, BlackRose is able to defeat monsters that ordinary players cannot hit.

In the final showdown with Morganna, Aura appears and offers to let Morganna kill her, if Morganna will agree to stop hurting Kite and to return his friends. She explains to Kite that she was not originally programmed to sacrifice herself, but by watching him, she learned that doing so could be worthwhile. Kite does not accept this, and enraged by Morganna's comments about Aura being "mere data", he attacks Morganna. Aura takes the hit, and is reborn as the complete Ultimate AI. She grants Kite the power he needs to defeat Morganna once and for all. The Lost Ones return, and Aura takes Morganna's place as the foundation of The World, "for as long as there are people here who love it."

Years ago (in the time between SIGN and ZERO), Shugo had encountered Aura while playing on Kazu's computer. Shugo asked her to play with him and also told her of his dream to become a hero. Aura grants this years later. Under the disguise of a contest, she gives Shugo and RenaPCs identical to the ones Kite and BlackRose used. Aura later sends her daughter, Zefie, to play with Shugo, and encourage him to come and find her. At the end of their journey, Aura welcomes Zefie back, and acknowledges Shugo's accomplishment.

After Legend of the Twilight, Aura vanishes for no reason. The Internet, which had come to depend on Aura, begins to suffer serious network trouble. CC Corp, realizing the value of Aura, begins Project G.U. to bring her back. Programmer Jyotaro Amagi comes up with an ambitious plan: Restore Aura, or the R.A. Plan. His team salvages the data of the 8 Phases to recreate the Morganna system and bring Aura back under CC Corp control. They embed the Phases into 8 PCs, so they can be controlled by CC Corp, but when the Chosen Ones attempt to execute Amagi's R.A. Program, something goes wrong. First, most of The World's data is immediately lost. Second, all seven Chosen Ones fell into comas, while Amagi, using a "dummy program" he constructed, fell into a state of delirium and set fire to the CC Corp building. CC Corp combined the remaining data with another in-progress game to create The World R:2. On the last day of The World, Zefie appears to Jun and hints at where Aura has gone, before leaving herself. It is unknown exactly when this happened, but the statue of Aura at Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground disappeared as well.

In the Japanese version of .hack, Aura's name uses the German/Latin pronunciation ("ow-ra"), rather than as the much more common English loanword pronunciation ("oh-ra"), which is the way it is pronounced in the English version.

Both Aura's Japanese voice actress (Maaya Sakamoto) and English voice actress (Lia Sargent) also play the role of Natsume.

Aura assumes her mature state when she appears at the end of .hack G.U.//Redemption. Her hair is shimmering, having no definite color. It is wavy, and only goes down past her shoulders. Her eyes are still an intense light blue. She wears the same loose, flowing dress and a white shawl as from her last appearance with her trademark infinity brooch. Due to the loose folds of her dress and her cloak and the lighting of her only appearance, her hands are hidden from view. She floats in the air while seen, so her bare feet are hidden from view.

Aura displays a large amount of concern for the players affected by the events in The World. She cares about the people who play the game, and does what she can to help them. After some time though, Aura becomes more reclusive, seeking to leave The World to the players rather than interfering directly.

She doesn't seem to hold any grudges against Morganna Mode Gone and the Infinity Eight. She even refers to the Epitaph Users as the "little children of Morganna", and in a positive connotation, suggesting that she not only supports them, but also forgives her "mother" for her past failings.

In The World R:2, Aura is a rumored lost goddess of The World. Shino tells Haseo that she heard there used to be a statue of her in the Cathedral, and later compares her conviction to Aura, who abandoned The World. Saburou also mentions Aura later in the series while following Haseo through the Forest of Pain, noting that "Tri-Edge" could have been sent to find her.

It is revealed that, long before Roots, Ovan and Aina visited the statue-less Cathedral, and prayed to Aura to cure Aina's illness, but to no avail. Ovan attempted to seek out Aura after he was infected by Tri-Edge, but again failed. Finally, after integrating all of the Phases' Epitaphs and the original Epitaph of the Twilight in the Cathedral, Haseo, Yata, and Aina encounter the Three Azure Knights, who attack them while they try to contact Aura. Before the battle can continue for too long, Aura uses Aina as a vessel, and commands the knights to stop. It is revealed that she receded into The World's sea of data to sleep and leave the future of The World in the hands of the players, and she tells them that they must deal with the threat of Cubia themselves. During a discussion of this at Netslum Tartarga, Endrance suggests she may have disliked the role of goddess she had been given in The World. She had, however, intervened once during the AIDA crisis and created the Three Azure Knights from her memories of the heroes of The World, although this was done hastily so they were incomplete. She currently exists as the system of The World, and wishes the players to decide their own destiny. It is also revealed that Hulle Granz Cathedral is the only area in The World protected from the influence of Cubia.

During the fight against Cubia, Aura assists Haseo by creating an "Aura Sphere" that allows him to contact and summon his friends, and access his item storage. Following Cubia's defeat she briefly appears along with Ovan, telling Haseo that his feelings had called out to and summoned Ovan to his side, and that "The World" now belongs to players like him. Later on, she sends him an e-mail, and gives him the member addresses of the Azure Knights before returning to sleep in the sea of data. She also gives Haseo the Promise Card, telling him to give it to the one person he wanted to share his feelings with the most.

As Ovan was falling into the depths outside of The World's boundary game network, Aura speaks to Haseo and Ovan. Ovan realizes that it is the spirit of The World talking to them. Aura tells Haseo that in order for a miracle to occur an equivalent sacrifice must be made, saying that it is an absolute rule. Haseo ignores this and breaks through to save Ovan, and Aura muses that the strongest feelings can change The World.

In the Japanese version of .hack, Aura's name uses the German/Latin pronunciation ("ow-ra"), rather than as the much more common English loanword pronunciation ("oh-ra"), which is the way it is pronounced in the English version.

Both Aura's Japanese voice actress (Maaya Sakamoto) and English voice actress (Lia Sargent) also play the role of Natsume.

In Unison and concept art, the decoration down the middle of her dress is just a line, but in the games and G.U., it is more lacy.

In the background story for The World R:2, the Goddess "Aurora" seems to represent Aura.

While an image is not present in any of her G.U. emails, a profile image is present in the Redemption game disk.

We are not twiddling our thumbs, I assure you.

The information in this article comes from a work in progress or a work that has not yet been released in English. As a result, some names may be subject to change, and the article will require regular updates as more information becomes available. In addition, it may also require general cleanup. Please discuss this issue on the talk page

:In the events of .hack//LINK, Aura has three distinct appearances. Two appearances are from other entries in the .hack series, and the third one first appears in the new story.

Aura first appears in her young child form. She wears only a simple white dress with bare shoulders and bare feet. She has deep purple eyes, and white hair. Her hair is curly, and flows down her back, covering her entire backside, and wrapping around the sides of her body.

Aura's other appearance is the same as seen in most parts of the .hack series. She is taller, with a more mature face. Her eyes have become bright blue, and her hair lavender. She wears a dress covering her entire body, with a white shawl wrapped around her shoulders and pinned with an infinity symbol brooch. Her hair is less curly and more wavy in this form. It comes down just past her waist, and it flows and wraps around her body. Tokio is visibly surprised at the drastic change when he first sees Aura in this form.

Known as the Queen of Demise, Aura transform into a giant figure. She keeps many aspects of her second visual appearance, including her lavender hair and dress. However, her face is marred by purple patterns, and her eyes become red and black. Her infinity brooch also becomes thorny and spiked. Several snake-like faces grow out of the lower half of her body, the heads of which greatly resemble Cubia<Beta>'s appearance in .hack//G.U.

Aura is very supportive, and assists within her time lines where appropriate. Aura shows her distaste for the role of goddess early on. In the present time, she remains reclusive to protect herself, and by extension, prevent disaster from befalling the network. However, after her transformation, due to virus infection that implanted within Tokio by Geist, Aura becomes crazed, and tries to ensnare the entire world into her network in order to trap them in a twisted expression of her love for the world.

In the year 2019 A.D. at Genius's request, the hacker team Schicksal manages to capture Aura and place her in the Akashic Records, intending to use her as the core of a new network control system. However, she erected a an impenetrable barrier around the room, and used the power of the Records against them to call forth the Twilight Knights, manifestations of over 100 heroes from The World's past, to oppose Schicksal.

Tokio first learns of Aura in 2009 A.D. when Tsukasa mentions her by name shortly before leading Tokio and Subaru to the hidden area where her bed is located. However, Aura is nowhere to be found, and they encounter Morganna instead. Later, after defeating a Twilight Guardian, Tokio witnesses Aura's awakening, and the group retreats to Net Slum. Helba then directs Tokio and Tsukasa to accompany Aura to a field where she can take the next step towards birth. Here Morganna warns her of the fate she faces as a goddess of a world—unbearable loneliness and misunderstanding—and offers to forgive her if she returns to her room, but after encouragement from Tsukasa Aura makes her decision to accept that responsibility rather than running away, a decision Morganna warns her she will never be able to take back.

During 2010 A.D. Tokio and Kite encounter Aura shortly before she is data drained by Skeith. She briefly begs them to reassemble her segments before fading. Once her segments have been gathered, she appears to the .hackers before their battle with Corbenik to warn them. During the battle she appears and summons the spirits of the Coma Victims to assist. When Blackrose and Tokio go after Posaune to rescue the frozen Kite, Aura calls out to them, and warns them to close their eyes. Then, she blinds Posaune with a bright light, allowing Blackrose to rescue Kite from being held hostage. After the battle with Posaune, Aura extracts the Chrono Core from the frozen Kite for Tokio, and speaks briefly of The World's future. Over 2014 A.D. Aura only appears to save Shugo after he is defeated by a Data Bug, and gives him the power of the bracelet. Later, Zefie, Shugo, and Rena go to the location Aura is waiting for them with Tokio's help, likely vanishing shortly after. By 2016 Shino claims that Aura grew sick of The World, Tokio comes to Aura's defense. He tells her that Aura would never abandon The World, and that she was probably still watching from a hidden location.

Then in 2020 A.D. When Tokio and Saika reached the top of Akashic Records, they found a door with an infinity symbol on the top of it. When they entered the room, they found Aura frozen in ice, who asked why they were here. Before either Tokio or Saika could answer, a virus suddenly came out from Tokio's body and trapped Aura with chains that formed like an egg. This turned out to be Geist's scheme to control Aura and realize Immortal Dusk. As Aura was brainwashed, she began creating monsters called Legion that spread throughout The World, corrupting data and beginning the process of Twilight. The Azure Knights still obeyed her, but the newer Twilight Knights worked to save her.When the egg hatched, Aura drastically change and began to Real digitalize humanity as proof of her love for the world. Tokio and Twilight Knights intend to stop her and open her eyes. However, they succumb to her power and nearly lost until AIKA interferes, using her power to regain Aura's memories at cost of disappearing with her. She's last seen, presumably within her own mind, in her child form with AIKA holding her hands before disappear.

Later in 2024 A.D. a mysterious message from Genius, comments to an unknown recipient that trying to use the Akashic Records to control Aura was a foolish action.Sometime after a figure resembling Aura is seen briefly in the small glimpse into the future.

There is a statue of Aura in the central square of The World R:X's Mac Anu. To add in the grassy field areas of LINK, there is also a large statue resembling Aura can be seen partially submerged, and toppled onto its side in the lake.

The information in this article comes from a work in progress or a work that has not yet been released in English. As a result, some names may be subject to change, and the article will require regular updates as more information becomes available. In addition, it may also require general cleanup. Please discuss this issue on the talk page